A Beautiful Morning..

Picture from 'It's a Girlie Affair'
Double stack Coconut pancakes from Jones the Grocer

Had a nice breakfast at Jones the Grocer @ Dempsey this morning with a dear friend.. a friend of abt 15 yrs and more to come!

A lovely time of catching up and connecting…  Even though we haven’t met for a while, the feeling of closeness and togetherness remains.. :)

I had a huge fruit scone and vanilla cupcake with raspberry frosting (which I couldn’t finish and had to pack away), while she ordered a double stack coconut pancakes topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and freshly chopped mangoes.

The fruit scone was more like a raisin (only) scone, not exceptionally fantastic, and I thought they could afford to be more generous in their helping of raisins..

The coconut pancakes on the other hand, were fragrant and delectable! I could taste the dessicated coconut in the pancakes, which gives it a slightly crunchy consistency..

Goes really well with the maple syrup, vanilla ice cream and fresh mangoes.. Yumm… :)

(I think I ate more of the pancakes than my friend who was the one who ordered them! Haha.. )

I thought there’s something special about the pancakes served at Jones, they are not the usual fluffy kind, but more cake-like, and much more filling..

If you are those who like the fluffy kind of pancakes, Jones pancakes may not be your cup of tea..

I actually quite like them, thought they go really well with the maple syrup, felt as if im eating a healthy version of a honey flavoured pound cake!  But it’s prob also cos I was in a ‘cakey’ mood today and was craving for something sweet.  :)

Oh well, all in all, what a beautiful morning… :)

What a Lovely Day!

This image is not a representation of the crepe i ate, solely for decorative purpose!

Had a beautiful belated Valentine’s Day celebration yesterday with the husband. Strictly speaking, it was the 15^th day of CNY (Yuan Xiao Jie), which traditionally is the Chinese version of Valentine’s Day. Haha. So, just as well.. :D

Went for a great lunch at the Marche at Somerset 313, it sure was a ‘Crepey’ day for me! :p

Had a smoked salmon savoury Crepe with sautéed mushrooms for my main, while the husband got a Rosti with sausage, and a side of stir-fry vegetables.

But the ‘Star’ of the day was none other than my Mango-Caramel sweet Crepe with double scoop Movenpick ice cream!!!

Oh man, nothing compares to this, it was awesomely delicious!!!!! SUPERB!!!!

My  Panna Cotta and Maple Walnut flavoured ice cream was creamy and smooth, went perfectly well with the fresh mangoes and Crepe drizzled with warm sweet caramel.

Oh man…  Seriously, it was HEAVENLY!!!!!!!

One of the nicest and yummiest dessert I’ve had this year!!!

The Panna Cotta ice cream tasted sooooo good, it was perfect!!!

The Maple walnut was really good too, though I thought it was a tad too sweet for me, but the aroma of the maple syrup and the crunchy walnuts made up for all that! :)

Altogether, it was a fantastic lunch, ending off with a movie date at the Orchard Cineplex.

What a memorable Valentine’s celebration indeed! *cheers!!* :)

My Love - Egg Tarts!

Had this sudden craving for egg tarts! Hee.. my favourite being Bengawan Solo's egg tarts, love their shortcrust pastry, soft and cake-like! *drools* :p
Portuguese egg tarts are quite nice too, but not my favourite..

Sorry i've been too lazy to update my blog the past wk.. spending quite alot of time tending to 'things' at home.. leaking toilet bowl, leaking air-con... Grrrr...
Oh well, looking at these tarts cheered me up!!
Gonna get some soon!
:)

The Flu Bug

Am sniffing and coughing quite alot today… with bodyache and lethargy… and awful phlegm sticking to my throat... Grrr…. Really feeling quite dreadful...

Didn’t know how the flu worsened… had been some time since I felt so bad from a flu…

Thankful for a rest day tmrw, hope I’ll get better soon..

Believe it or not, im actually thinking of getting some ice cream to soothe my throat.,. a comfort for this sickly day!

Heh… :p

Change - the Only Constant

Got a day off today.. So glad to be able to spend time with the husband before he goes for his shift later!

Had Mac breakfast together, watching tv, snacking on cny goodies.. What a bliss! :p

& isn’t such little moments in the midst of our busyness that’s the sweetest?

But im gonna miss him loads again tonight…

My Comfort

This is solely for decorative purpose, NOT image of the Matcha Sundae which i ate

Had a superb Jap food feast at Tampopo (the Liang Court branch) this evening with my parents! How sweet of them! :)

Totally satisfied my sashimi craving!

& it was also the first time I tried Uni!!!

I dunno what gave me the courage to try, but I must say it is an acquired taste and I do quite like it, somewhat sweet, and melts in your mouth..

Definitely gonna try it again in future. :)

We had 3 different types of desserts, shared with my dearest sister – the light Jap cheese cake, the Scoop cake (which is a vanilla fruit cake topped with a generous helping of fresh cream), and a Matcha sundae.

The cakes tasted quite ordinary, but the green tea sundae was YUM! :)

 We were seriously filled to the brim after that. :)

Food aside, what I really enjoyed most tonight, was the companionship with my family, which I hold dear to my heart..

Really enjoyed my time with my parents and my dearest little sister, they really provided me so much comfort during this time when my husband will be away most of the time due to his work.

Their love and warmth gave me so much strength.

I really thank God for my family, beyond what words can say.

With my husband having to work evening shifts most of the time these months, this season may not be easy as I will need to handle many things on my own, and will need to grow in independence.

But I know, God and my family will always be by my side.

Amen.

It's the Bunny Year!

Strangely, I seem to be having some mixed feelings abt CNY this year..

On one hand, im happy and looking forward to celebrating CNY with my new extended family (ie. My husband’s family), yet on the other, there seems to be a tinge of moodiness which I cant really pinpoint why.. just dun seem to feel the CNY atmosphere as much this year as compared to previously..

Maybe because im staying on my own now, and am alone in the house most of the time, so the excitement which I used to share with my siblings at my old house seems to be lost? Or could it be because I’ve not been working for the past months, and CNY (and so the CNY holidays) has become just like any other days, and so dun seem so special and so yearned after anymore?

Oh wells… or could it just be due to the usual female hormonal changes?? Haha.

In fact, I should be especially happy since it’s the first year the husband and I are celebrating this occasion as a married couple.. but thinking abt the fact that my husband needs to work tmrw night, yes, on Day One of CNY, AND the weekend (!!!!), makes me miss him already… Sigh.

Ok, I was reminded not to get into my usual melancholic mood again.. Gotta see things on the bright side and enjoy this festival as much as I can.

Gonna bring out all the CNY goodies which I bought, hopefully that will add some excitement and lift up the CNY spirit in this place!!

Happy CNY everyone!! :)

Traditional CNY Nian Gao

While waiting for the husband to buy lunch back yesterday, decided to make some pan fried Nian Gao (Traditional Chinese New Year sweet cake).

I've always loved Nian Gao since young, not just cos I've got a sweet tooth, but really because my paternal grandmother knows how to make really delicious deep fried Nian Gao - I especially love the egg batter, and with those sweet gooey nian gao that simply melts in your mouth... Yummmm.... :)

But, as deep fried Nian Gao is a little too unhealthy, plus it will make my kitchen oily and sticky, I decided to make pan fried Nian Gao instead!

Tastes quite good!! Considering it was my first attempt! Haha. Brought back fond childhood memories too!

Only thing is I thought the batter could be a little lighter but more eggy... Would try using a different type of batter the next time!

Here’s the recipe for the batter I used this time:

1 egg

Half a cup self raising flour/ or plain flour

¼ cup milk

A pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients altogether until a thick batter forms.

Cut the nian gao into small pieces.

Dip them into the batter and pan fry until golden brown.

Ready to serve!